UPDATE: Day Six - Afternoon Session With Isabella Megli And Chris Lee Interview Video

Erin Corwin Missing Poster/Pinterest

This post covers the courtroom action for Wednesday's session after the lunch break. Again, there is no court today because a juror suffered a death in her family, and needed the morning to attend what sounded like a funeral service.

Isabella Megli was the first witness called by the prosecution after the lunch break. Megli is the owner of the White Rock Horse Rescue. (She refers to herself as "Isabel Megli" on the White Rock Horse Rescue website, which is why I referred to her that way in previous blog posts.)

I could not see Christopher Lee's face from where I was sitting in the courtroom, but the prosecutor pointed out that the defendant was smiling at Megli. Megli was not smiling back.

Megli testified she met Erin Corwin when Erin sponsored a horse at the ranch. (The horse, Cassy, is pictured below.) Although Megli was not allowed, due to the defense objections of hearsay, to answer many of the questions ADA Sean Daugherty asked her, Megli did make some damaging points:

• Chris and Nichole Lee were at White Rock Horse Rescue on the afternoon and evening of June 27, 2014, the day before Erin disappeared. Chris asked Megli if he could have her propane tank (which Megli identified as looking like the one found in the mine shaft next to Erin's body). When Megli asked if Chris wanted the tank for a barbecue,  Chris said no, "He was going to use it to 'play games.'"
• The Sunday before June 28, Christopher Lee told Megli he had been out exploring areas in the desert. He told her he found a mine that was so remote, "No one would ever find it."
• Megli testified that on June 29, both Nichole and Chris were at Megli's horse ranch. Megli said she heard from Nichole that Erin Corwin was missing. Nichole said she believed Erin was playing a game and hiding but, as Megli testified, "She (Nichole) didn't care if she (Erin) was dead."
• When the prosecutor asked Megli if Nichole said to her that Christopher Lee was "too stupid to keep his lies straight" she said "Yes."
• Megli testified that prior to Erin going missing, Nichole Lee told her she wanted to kill Erin, "If Erin didn't stay away from her husband."
• Megli said Nichole Lee told her after Erin disappeared: "(If) there is no body, there is no case."
• Megli testified Chris Lee never returned the propane tank he borrowed.

The defense did not cross-examine Megli.

Erin Corwin's horse, Cassy

The next witness was San Bernardino Sheriff's Department Sgt. Daniel Hanke, who conducted a roughly six hour interview with Christopher Lee on July 1, 2014. Ninety minutes of that video was played in court Wednesday afternoon.

Lee went willingly with Hanke to the Sheriff's Department substation. Hanke testified Lee said to him on the drive from base to the sheriff's station:

"I really want to help you guys find her, because as much as she lied to me, I really cared about her."

Hanke started the interview by chatting warmly with Lee about Lee's daughter, his plans for life after leaving the Marines, the annoyance of having to pack up everything and move back to Anchorage, Alaska. Lee was fidgety, scratching his legs often and crossing his arms in front of him.

Lee claimed not to be able to remember simple facts, like where in Oregon a friend of his lived, or even Erin's last name. Lee blamed this fogginess on combat-related memory problems. He also explained why he lied about his relationship with Erin when law enforcement approached him the morning after Erin went missing:

"It didn't seem pertinent at the time."

Hanke asked Lee to describe how his relationship with Erin developed. Lee said the two bonded over their shared unhappiness with their life circumstances. Lee said he was suicidal after returning from a deployment in Afghanistan, because he missed the simplicity of his life there and wanted to go back:

"I was indifferent about life."

Lee said he and Erin first kissed after playing the video game Halo together on Xbox. They also had a shared love of the television show "The Walking Dead." Lee told Hanke he was able to confide in Erin all of his problems and his desire to kill himself - things he could not tell anyone else:

"She was a secret, so I could tell her my secrets." 

Lee said he and Erin would text each other several times an hour every day. He described his relationship with Erin as his make-believe life:

"She was my happy place."

Lee claimed the physical part of his relationship with Erin consisted only of kissing, and for only a couple of weeks.

The prosecution plans to play the rest of the video in court on Monday. Until then...

Day Four - Prosecution Calls Five Witnesses

The first witness Deputy District Attorney Sean Daugherty called Monday morning was Paul Anastasia, a engineer medic and firefighter with the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Anastasia was the search and rescue member who recovered Erin Corwin's body on Aug. 17, 2014 from the mine shaft where searchers discovered her body on Aug. 16, 2014.

Anastasia described the air in the mine shaft as not habitable for humans, and the temperature there to be at least 100 degrees. He spent about a half hour in the mine shaft, placing Erin's body in two coroner's bags. Anastasia also noticed what he deemed to be a homemade torch, and made sure to bring it up with him when he left the mine. (In his opening statement to the jury last week, Daugherty said the torch was made, in part, with a t-shirt that contained the DNA of Christopher Lee.)

The second witness was Pedro Ligorria, a member of San Bernardino County's Search and Rescue team. He was a member of the search team that first discovered Erin's body in the mine. Ligorria testified that he found a bullet casing near the collar of the mine, and placed it in a plastic evidence bag using gloved hands.

Erin Corwin/Facebook

The third witness was someone court watchers have seen every day of the trial, because he sits next to ADA Sean Daugherty at the prosecution table. Detective Jonathan Woods works homicide detail for the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. He is also the case agent for this trial, collecting paperwork and reporting to the District Attorney's office.

Woods relayed how the recovered evidence was examined and bagged by members of Crime Scene Investigation. Crucial pieces of evidence included the propane tank, two 20 liter water cans that had gasoline in the bottom of the containers, and a Sprite bottle.

Woods attended Erin's autopsy. He testified as to how Dr. Frank Sheridan, the Chief Medical Examiner for San Bernardino County, removed a garrote made of paracord and rebar from around Erin's neck. Woods also explained how dental records were needed to positively identify the body found in the mine as Erin Corwin.

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Detective Bryan Zierdt was the first witness to testify after the lunch break. Zierdt described a conversation he had with Nichole Lee in the days following Erin's disappearance. Nichole said her husband Chris kept the .22 caliber rifle Zierdt was inquiring about in a room at Isabel Megli's residence at White Rock Horse Rescue ranch. 

Nichole, daughter Liberty, and Zierdt drove out to White Rock. They entered Megli's residence, and Megli gave Zierdt permission to search one of the rooms. Nichole went right back to the room in question, reached up to a shelf, and took down a case that contained the rifle in question. 

The final witness of the day was Sgt. Mauricio Hurtado with the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department. Back in 2014 he was a detective on the same four-man homicide detail team as Detectives Woods and Zierdt. Hurtado described how CSI specialists processed the scene surrounding Erin Corwin's abandoned car. He testified about the footprints that were seen leaving the driver's side of Erin's car, and towards another vehicle. Hurtado originally believed the tire tracks of that vehicle matched Chris Lee's jeep, but further investigation revealed they did not. 

Hurtado also testified about the searches he conducted of the Lee residence, the Corwin residence, a U-Haul truck rented by the Lees, and Megli's residence. There was one piece of evidence Hurtado described that I had not read about before: a purple latex glove retrieved from the side pocket of a pair of men's camouflage shorts that were found in Megli's living room.

Court continues Tuesday morning at ten.

Judge Orders Body Of Slain Marine Wife Erin Corwin Released To Her Family

First published on Home Post Dec. 3, 2014 | 11:52 a.m. | By Beth Ford Roth
  

Erin Corwin/Facebook

In a San Bernardino County courtroom this week, Judge Rod Cortez ruled that the body of slain Marine wife Erin Corwin could be released to her family - almost four months after searchers recovered her remains in a remote desert mine shaft.

KESQ.com reports Cortez rescinded a previous court order to keep Corwin's remains for further testing.

Marine veteran Christopher Brandon Lee has been charged with Corwin's murder. His attorney, according to the Desert Sun, is considering a change of venue request for his client because of the intense media attention the case has received.

Six weeks after she was reported missing, Corwin's body was discovered on Aug. 16 in a 140-foot mine shaft on Bureau of Land Management land in the Mojave Desert. Dental records were needed to confirm Corwin's identity.

She was last seen alive on the morning of June 28, when Corwin told her husband, Marine Cpl. Jonathan Wayne Corwin, she was heading to Joshua Tree National Park to scout photography locations. 

Cpl. Corwin reported his wife missing the next day.

The couple lived in an apartment at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. 

Family members of Corwin say she was three months pregnant when she disappeared.

A probable-cause affidavit filed by Detective Cory Emon of the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department indicated Corwin was involved in a romantic relationship with Lee, whom she met at White Rock Horse Rescue.

Erin Corwin's Body Discovered, Alleged Lover Arrested In Her Death

Originally published on Home Post Aug. 18, 2014 | 12:42 p.m. | By Beth Ford Roth

Searchers discovered the body of missing pregnant Marine wife Erin Corwin on Aug. 16 in a 100-foot mine shaft on Bureau of Land Management land in the Mojave Desert, law enforcement officials announced Monday.

Dental records were needed to confirm Corwin's identity. An autopsy conducted Monday morning concluded the manner of death to be homicide, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon.

Christopher Lee mug shot

Christopher Lee, the Marine veteran who police believe was romantically involved with Corwin, was arrested in Alaska on Sunday evening for her murder.

The Desert Sun reports Christopher Lee is being detained in Anchorage on a federal hold awaiting extradition back to California.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos told reporters:

"If Lee does not waive extradition he should be back in our county in four to five weeks.."

For those of you just learning about the case, here's some background:

On the morning of June 28, Corwin told her husband, Marine Cpl. Jonathan Wayne Corwin, she was heading to Joshua Tree National Park to scout photography locations. Cpl. Corwin reported his wife missing the next day.

The couple lived in an apartment at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. 

Family members of Corwin say she was three months pregnant when she disappeared.

Marine Cpl. Jonathan Corwin and Erin Corwin

A probable-cause affidavit filed by Detective Cory Emon of the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department indicated Corwin was involved in a romantic relationship with Lee, whom she met at White Rock Horse Rescue.

Emon wrote in the affidavit that a friend of Corwin's in Tennessee told detectives that she may have been pregnant with Lee's baby, and not her husband's:

"[The friend] knew Erin and Lee were going on a day trip together on 06-28-14, for a celebration of Erin’s pregnancy."

Yet despite this "celebration," Corwin had confided in her Tennessee friend that Lee was worried his wife would divorce him if she knew of the affair — and would take away their child.

Detective Emon's concluded in the affidavit:

“It is highly likely Erin could have been harmed by an unknown firearm. Sometime after Erin left with Lee, her phone was de-activated (turned off).”

Also in the affidavit, White Rock Horse Rescue Ranch owner Isabel Megli shared with detectives a conversation she had with Christopher Lee's wife Nichole following Corwin's disappearance:

"Nichole made statements to Isabel about the detectives having missed something at their residence when it was searched because detectives did not search the garage.

"Nichole told Isabel that without a body the detectives did not have a case against them and the detectives would never find the body."

There is also forensic evidence that ties Christopher Lee's vehicle to Corwin:

(P)olice found a single set of shoe tracks at Corwin's abandoned vehicle. The tracks led from the driver side door of her Toyota and then disappeared next to a set of tire tracks.

According to The Desert Sun, the court document states that tracks found at the scene are "consistent" with the tire tracks left by Lee's Jeep.

Detectives 'Looking For A Crime Scene' In Erin Corwin Case (Video)

Originally published on Home Post July 23, 2014 | 10:05 a.m. | By Beth Ford Roth

Erin and Jonathan Corwin

Detectives with the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Specialized Investigation Division are "looking for a crime scene" in the disappearance of pregnant Marine wife Erin Corwin, according to a department press release.

Several media outlets have obtained a probable-cause affidavit filed by Detective Cory Emon that indicates Corwin was involved in a romantic relationship with a married Marine veteran named Christopher Lee, whom she met at White Rock Horse Rescue.

According to what Emon wrote in the affidavit, a friend of Erin's who lives in Tennessee told detectives

“...Erin may be pregnant with Lee’s child.

"[The friend] knew Erin and Lee were going on a day trip together on 06-28-14, for a celebration of Erin’s pregnancy."

Yet despite this "celebration," Erin had confided in her friend from Tennessee that Lee was concerned his wife, Nichole, would divorce him and take their child away if she found out Erin was pregnant with his baby. 

Christopher and Nichole Lee with their daughter

Detective Emon's assessment of what may have happened on June 28, the last day Erin's husband, Marine Cpl. Jonathan Corwin, saw her alive, is not hopeful:

“It is highly likely Erin could have been harmed by an unknown firearm. Sometime after Erin left with Lee, her phone was de-activated (turned off).”

Also in the affidavit, White Rock Horse Rescue Ranch owner Isabel Megli shared with detectives a conversation she had with Nichole Lee following Corwin's disappearance:

"Nichole made statements to Isabel about the detectives having missed something at their residence when it was searched because detectives did not search the garage.

"Nichole told Isabel that without a body the detectives did not have a case against them and the detectives would never find the body."

The Desert Sun reports there is forensic evidence that may tie Christopher Lee to Erin Corwin on the day she disappeared:

[P]olice found a single set of shoe tracks at Corwin's abandoned vehicle. The tracks led from the driver side door of her Toyota and then disappeared next to a set of tire tracks.

The court document states that tracks found at the scene are "consistent" with the tire tracks left by Lee's Jeep.

Not surprisingly, HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell has a whole lot to say about this case, especially the fact Lee was arrested after police searched his home: